Bryan Lunduke

Author Archives: Bryan Lunduke

2016: The year of tech products nobody wanted

7 tech products we didn't need—and 1 we need but never arrivedImage by Thinkstock2016 has been a rather odd year in many ways. Not least of which has been the onslaught of technology gizmos and doodads produced by some of the biggest companies in the world—that just outright stink. What follows are some of the most interesting stinkers I could think of—stuff that nobody in their right mind would want. That statement, along with the rest of this list, is sure to annoy many. And I stand by it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

7 Linux predictions for 2017

What the Linux world can expect in 2017Image by ThinkstockLast year I made a set of predictions of events that I thought would happen in the tech world (focused primarily on Linux and free software). I was mostly right. This has emboldened me to make another set of predictions for 2017. I have no inside knowledge on any of these—I am basing this entirely on the twin scientific principles of star maths and wishy thinking.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The NSA and Skilz: Turning spying on you into a video game

What could possibly be creepier than a government organization (such as the NSA) having nearly unlimited access to your private, personal information (including access to your webcam)? Turns out, the answer is: when it gets turned into a video game. And it appears, they have done this. On Dec. 1, 2016, Wikileaks released a collection of documents relating to the German parliament inquiry of the cooperation between the German foreign intelligence agency (the BND) and the United States’ NSA. One particular document (pdf) within that collection caught my attention. It appears to be a report from an official at the European Cryptologic Center (ECC) from April 13, 2012, detailing how they can improve usage of Xkeyscore (XKS) to collect information about people. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The NSA and Skilz: Turning spying on you into a video game

What could possibly be creepier than a government organization (such as the NSA) having nearly unlimited access to your private, personal information (including access to your webcam)? Turns out, the answer is: when it gets turned into a video game. And it appears, they have done this. On Dec. 1, 2016, Wikileaks released a collection of documents relating to the German parliament inquiry of the cooperation between the German foreign intelligence agency (the BND) and the United States’ NSA. One particular document (pdf) within that collection caught my attention. It appears to be a report from an official at the European Cryptologic Center (ECC) from April 13, 2012, detailing how they can improve usage of Xkeyscore (XKS) to collect information about people. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

2016 Linux predictions: Which ones came true?

Roughly one year ago, I made a series of predictions about what would happen in the Linux world during 2016. Let’s take a look at just how wrong I was.1. We still won’t be using WaylandAh, Wayland. The eternally yearned for replacement for Xorg that never seems to ship by default on any (major) Linux distribution. I predicted that the status quo would remain the same—that the world would remain Wayland-less throughout 2016.I was wrong.On Nov. 22, 2016, Fedora 25 shipped—and with Wayland as the default display server.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Linux-y things I am thankful for

Thanksgiving is in a few days, and talking about “things I am thankful for” is pretty traditional this time of year. So, here we go. Here’s my list of Linux-y (and free software-y) things I am thankful for in 2016. (At least the ones I could remember when I sat down to write this list.)1. I am thankful for the developers of cmus, tmux, midnight commander and all of the other projects that help make using the shell in Linux such a productive and enjoyable experience. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Down the rabbit hole, part 5: Secure and private instant messaging

Instant messaging is hard.There are untold numbers of instant messaging networks (not even taking SMS into consideration)—with companies like Google having, all by themselves, created a half dozen competing applications and networks. And, if you want those messages to be secure? Well, things get even more difficult—there simply aren’t many options. In my ongoing quest to make my life as secure and private as possible, I’ve found three instant messaging networks that are worth talking about. They’re not perfect, but they are significant improvements over using the many, astoundingly insecure platforms out there (such as Google’s Hangouts or Apple’s iMessage). Let’s go over those here, with their benefits and pitfalls. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Down the rabbit hole, part 5: Secure and private instant messaging

Instant messaging is hard.There are untold numbers of instant messaging networks (not even taking SMS into consideration)—with companies like Google having, all by themselves, created a half dozen competing applications and networks. And, if you want those messages to be secure? Well, things get even more difficult—there simply aren’t many options. In my ongoing quest to make my life as secure and private as possible, I’ve found three instant messaging networks that are worth talking about. They’re not perfect, but they are significant improvements over using the many, astoundingly insecure platforms out there (such as Google’s Hangouts or Apple’s iMessage). Let’s go over those here, with their benefits and pitfalls. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

If Linux never was: Imagining an alternate reality without Linux

Ever read a story so depressing, so utterly devoid of happiness, that you wonder why on Earth any fool would take the time to write it down? Just solid sadness beginning to end.This, right here, is one of those stories.This dismal little tale also makes use of what is quite possibly the most over-used (and over-rated) plot device in the history of mankind: the butterfly effect. You know: the notion that a simple little thing can have extreme consequences. A butterfly flaps its wings in Sheboygan, and two days later, a hurricane hits Walla Walla. Because—the butterfly effect. Just a dreadful crutch used by hack writers to move forward a story when they can’t come up with any original ideas.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Down the rabbit hole, part 4: Securing your email

As I strive to make my life safe and secure from prying eyes, one area stands out as being astoundingly critical: email.Heck, you can barely go 24 hours without another example of leaked or hacked emails being released to the public. Add to that the recent revelations that Yahoo has been working secretly with United States government agencies to scan all email going through their system, and it quickly becomes clear that the majority of us have email accounts that are not even remotely private or secure.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

elementary OS 0.4: Review and interview with the founder

Last month the elementary team released elementary OS “Loki” 0.4.Needless to say, I wasted no time downloading and installing that bad boy on one of my machines. Even though I tend to use openSUSE on most of my desktops and laptops, I’ve had a soft spot for elementary since its very first release. It’s always been a high-quality, polished system—and the team behind it clearly care a great deal about the user experience. + Also on Network World: Highly social Linux nerds worth following +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Down the rabbit hole, part 3: Linux and Tor are key to ensuring privacy, security

So, I’ve decided I need to improve the privacy and security of my life (especially as it relates to computing). And I’ve come to the conclusion that in order to effectively do this, I need to focus on utilizing open source software as much as possible.  What next? Let’s start at a very simple, basic level: the operating system of my laptop computers (I don’t actually have a desktop currently, but the same ideas will apply) and how they connect to the internet.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Down the rabbit hole, part 2: To ensure security and privacy, open source is required

I am currently embarking on a quest to make my entire life as private and secure as possible—while still having a good time and enjoying the fruits of the modern world. In this article, I won’t go into why I am doing this. For that, see my article introducing this endeavor.What I’d like to talk about right now are some pretty high-level things—laying out the ground rules, if you will, for what I’m trying to accomplish.First, let me start by saying none of this is about open source or free software. Licensing of software, while extremely important, is not the focus here. This is about privacy and security and absolutely nothing else.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Down the rabbit hole, part 2: To ensure security and privacy, open source is required

I am currently embarking on a quest to make my entire life as private and secure as possible—while still having a good time and enjoying the fruits of the modern world. In this article, I won’t go into why I am doing this. For that, see my article introducing this endeavor.What I’d like to talk about right now are some pretty high-level things—laying out the ground rules, if you will, for what I’m trying to accomplish.First, let me start by saying none of this is about open source or free software. Licensing of software, while extremely important, is not the focus here. This is about privacy and security and absolutely nothing else.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Down the rabbit hole, part 1: Making my life private and secure

Over the years I’ve done a number of—let’s just call them “experiments in computering”—where I attempt to use my computers in such a way that is outside of my comfort zone. Living entirely in a terminal. Getting rid of all Google software and services. Using nothing but a version of FreeDOS. That sort of thing. I typically give myself the simple goal of “do it for 30 days, and see how it goes.” In the process, I always learn something—about what I like, about what is possible. And even if I don’t learn a cotton-pickin’ thing of value, it’s still kinda fun—kinda. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Down the rabbit hole, part 1: Making my life private and secure

Over the years I’ve done a number of—let’s just call them “experiments in computering”—where I attempt to use my computers in such a way that is outside of my comfort zone. Living entirely in a terminal. Getting rid of all Google software and services. Using nothing but a version of FreeDOS. That sort of thing. I typically give myself the simple goal of “do it for 30 days, and see how it goes.” In the process, I always learn something—about what I like, about what is possible. And even if I don’t learn a cotton-pickin’ thing of value, it’s still kinda fun—kinda. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The U.S. presidential candidates on technology, privacy issues

With the general election creeping ever closer here in the United States, now seemed like a good time to get an official stance from the four presidential candidates who will be on the ballot about critical issues around technology and privacy.I narrowed my list of questions for them down to just four (my original list was around 12) in order to make this easy for each campaign to answer. And each campaign was asked the exact same questions—with no variation whatsoever.Even so, the only campaign to respond to me in any real way was Jill Stein’s. The Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson and Donald Trump campaigns declined to provide concrete stances or clarifications—though I did get some helpful links from a Johnson surrogate.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The U.S. presidential candidates on technology, privacy issues

With the general election creeping ever closer here in the United States, now seemed like a good time to get an official stance from the four presidential candidates who will be on the ballot about critical issues around technology and privacy.

I narrowed my list of questions for them down to just four (my original list was around 12) in order to make this easy for each campaign to answer. And each campaign was asked the exact same questions—with no variation whatsoever.

Even so, the only campaign to respond to me in any real way was Jill Stein’s. The Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson and Donald Trump campaigns declined to provide concrete stances or clarifications—though I did get some helpful links from a Johnson surrogate.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Linux’s lack of software is a myth

When I first started dabbling with Linux back in the 1990s, a lot of various types of software was missing for me to be able to use it full time.Games. Video editing tools. High-quality productivity software. Those three categories were the most critical for me (and from what I’ve seen, for most people). Sure, there were some projects in those categories, but not many—and they were not typically overly robust or polished. + Also on Network World: Ultimate guide to Linux desktop environments +So, I kept dabbling. I’d use Linux for a few weeks, then go back to a different system (Mac OS, Windows, OS/2, you name it). There just always seemed to be something—some critical piece of software—missing.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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